In what it's claiming is a first, in scale and scope, Random House has closed its most significant multi-language deal for a single title by acquiring the rights to publish the latest Salman Rushdie book in every territory where it has subsidiary. Through the deal, RH will publish the title in English, German and Spanish. RH described the acquisition as its "most far-reaching multi-national" to date, and bought rights to the work in all formats--hardcover, paperback, audio, and e-book. The deal was struck by Random chairman Markus Dohle with agent Andrew Wylie and the book, a memoir, is expected to be completed by the end of next year with a planned a 2012 publication.
Calling the deal "unprecedented in scope," RH intends to publish the memoir simultaneously in all its subsidiaries in print, audio, and e-book. To that end, the publisher will release the book in English in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. The publisher will also release a German edition in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A Spanish edition will be published in Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
Random House does not, for example, have a subsidiary in France so the deal does not include an edition in that country, and Wylie retains control of the foreign language rights for those territories.
RH spokersperson Stuart Applebaum said the deal speaks directly to the house's commitment to "making more deals that involve all of the countries where we publish" and similar acquisitions could be made in the future for the right book and author. While Random's different subsidiaries have acquired rights to the same author before, they have never done so in such a coordinated fashion, Applebaum added, noting that in the future the head of different Random groups could lead a similar effort.
